Konoha's Red Flash
by Falstaf
Summary: A detached and cold Naruto completes an impressive service in just 2 years in ANBU. Now honoarbly discharged, how much has changed, and how much has he? Nothing is ever as it seems.
1. Chapter 1

_A/N_

This is just an idea I had a while back, and I couldn't get it out of my head. I'm not abandoning my other fics, but I like how this one is starting. Its slightly less...far fetched, than my other two. And it leaves me room to develope a lot of plot.

_A/N_

_Just another Day. Just another day doing my job. Nothing more, nothing less._

These were the thoughts of one Uzumaki Naruto, after having completed his latest mission as an ANBU Captain. Unfortunately, it was yet another solo mission. After all, ANBU identities were kept secret from everyone, sans the ANBU themselves. Being as such, his reputation as the Kyuubi incarnate completely shattered all hopes of any kind of team. So here he was...again...covered in the blood, some of it his own, but mostly that of his targets, walking down the streets of Konoha to the ANBU headquarters. Long ago had he been numb to the stares of fright and horror that the villagers gave him. At least when he was wearing his mask, they didn't fear him because of his reputation. No, they feared him because of his power, prestige, and his brutal efficiency.

The years have not been kind to him, at the tender age of 19 and already having served over 2 years in the Service of Konoha's elite ANBU corps. In all two years of service, he had yet to work in a cell of other ANBU. He compensated by being a loner of sorts. He figured if no one wanted to work with him, he would just make himself suited to not needing a team. Ever.

His old team should have been foreboding enough. He had spent years after his return with Jiraya trying to recover the Lost Uchiha. All for the sake of one girl. _I was a damn fool to even try_. No matter how many times he had faced the Uchiha on retrieval missions, it seemed the only thing he was ever able to do was prevent Orochimaru from taking him as a host for another few years. After the last attempt almost 2 years ago, he had finally given up. Two or three years ago, 'giving up' had never been in his vocublary. Funny thing, how multiple chidoris to the chest can mature a person. Of course the girl he had cared for back then tried to convince him to help her again. Even as he thought he wasn't going to make it, almost dieing in the hospital, she had clenched his hand and tried to make him promise to go after Sasuke again.

At that point, on his would-be deathbed, had he conciously given up on the Uchiha. He never spoke the words aloud, but it was understood. Shortly after his maraculous recovery, he pulled a few favors from the Hokage and enlisted into the ANBU. He hadn't seen any of the Rookie Nine or Gai's team since. He had almost a mental illness when it came to completeing missiona fter mission after mission. It seemed he never took off the ANBU Fox Mask that was handed to him when he achieved the rank of captain. Regular ANBU have indescreet masks, but only captains have their masks painted somewhat, to distinguish themselves. That, and a red cloak of sorts, that more resembled a tattered scarf that was worn around the neck and drapped over so that it dragged ont he floor behind him when he was leisurely walking, and fluttering wildly when he was in battle. Needless to say, his skills improved drastically, earning the nickname "Konoha's Red Flash", due in no small part to the cape and his notorious speeds. He even now wore the rope around the cloak of his uniform that signified he was a Seal Master. No easy feat, as the tests were rigorous, but he had passed with flying colors. Yes he was powerfull, but he was also consumed by that power. Not in the way of the Uchiha that deserted have, but rather in the absolutes of completing his missions.

So now here he was, dressed in full ANBU gear, red cloak, rope, and 2 swords that hung like an 'x' on his back, walking into ANBU hq after another assasination mission. He had been told about a month ago that he had set a new record for completed missions since the history of the ANBU. He was, in fact, suppose to go to a meeting today with the Hokage after handing in his mission report. It read the usuall 15 some killed, to include his primary and secondary targets. So he strolled in, handed the report to the clerk, and proceeded to the locker rooms. It wouldn't due to have his meeting witht he Hokoage while still covered in blood.

Dumping his clothes into a bin and wrapping a towel around his waist, he proceeded to the shower. It still amazed him how blood would suddenly become dromant when dried, only to stutter back to life in small rivulets when introduced to a hot shower. Showers, eating in his own home, and sleeping...some times... were the only occasions he ever felt the need to take off his mask. No one had seen his face for a good two years.

After drying himself off, and picking up with newly laundered clothes from the return bin, he changed and started to make his way up to the Hokage Tower.

He pushed opent he double oaken doors of Godaime's office once he heard her say 'Come in'.

Upon noticing the familiar mask and countenance that was Uzumaki Naruto, she picked up the paper work in front of her, and slid it over to the corner of the desk. _'This,'_ she thought _'is going to be hard enough as it is without paperwork'_.

"Naruto, please sit."

He snapped out of his kneeling position, a position made to honor the presence of the Hokage and prorperly salute her, to do as she commanded and sat down.

"Uzumaki Naruto, please remove your mask."

'_Shit'_

He thought he was being dragged in here for a congratulations or something along those lines. But, the Hokage NEVER asked any ANBU tot ake off their masks...EVER...unless...

regardless, he didn't make a move to remove his mask, the order apparently falling on deaf ears. This made the Hokage visibly stressed, but she continued her lecture none-the-less.

"Naruto..." She began "How many years have you served int he Anbu?

"Two" Was his curt reply.

"And, how many missions have you completed in a team?"

"...Zero..."

"And, how many missions have you completed solo?"

"Hokage-sama, I don't see what this has to do with..."

"Just answer the question Naruto."

"...32 B-Rank, 87 A-Rank, and 112 S-Rank missions to date, Hokage-sama..."

"Naruto, I will put this very bluntly. I am concerned for your mental health. All you seem to do is go out on missions or train. You havn't even used a day of vacation since you signed up."

She took one piece of paper from her pile, and started scratching words unto it in a happhazard manner.

"Uzumaki Naruto, I have deemed you mentally unfit to carry on your duties as an ANBU captain, and demote you to Special Jounin. Please remove your mask. You may keep it, but your not going to wear it ever again." Said the Hokage in a stern voice, still not looking up as she continued to write was was presumably his honorable discharge from the ANBU.

What should have been rage over a demotion when he was clearly the strongest n the ANBU, what should have been anger that he was demoted after so many missions completed...was just simply absent. He took this like a sword through the heart, not bothering to show emotion, because it would heal up afterwards...granted it wouldn't be the same, but he could still take missions. Being out of ANBU would not stop him from doing his duty to bring honor the the village and oblivion onto its enemies. So he removed his mask and made to leave. He had reached the door when the Hokage looked up from her papers to face Naruto's retreating back, and called out to him.

"You are to report in two days to meet your Jounin Team and be assinged your missio..."

She trailed off as she looked upon his face, which had turned sideways to acknoledge her words...simply put, she was caught rather speechless.

"Hia, Hokage-sama." And just like that, the doors closed as he left the tower, presumably to his old apartment...which he probubly hasn't even been to in months...or even years.

She was speechless for a full minute after he had departed her office. The years had been kind to Naruto indeed, atleast on the looks department. His hair was longer, a lighter shade of yellow, and fell over his forehead, threatening to cover his forehead protector. His eyes had remained the same cerulean blue she had remembered, but lacked the innocense that had once taken up residence in his soul. Two years of killing over ten people a day (on OFF days) had that effect she guessed. His face was much more angular, much more handsome than she remembered. he still had his whisker marks, but they had faded to a dim line, barely noticable if it wasn't in the right angle. He looked like a carbon copy of the Fourth himself, through and through.

He found himself walking back to ANBU hq, seemingly to deposit his equipment. Luckily, ANBU hq and the Hokage Tower were connected, so he didn't need to go outside for people to gawk at his face. he hadn't really taken the time to study his own features ever since the mask came into play, so he had no idea how handsome or hideious he actually looked. He felt naked without his mask. So he found himself in the locker room, taking out the civilian clothing he had used for a staek-out mission once. They had seemed to fit well and allowed for maximum mobility in battle. It wasn't comparable to the protection the ANBU light armored vest gave him, but then again, if the enemy ever had enough speed, or luck, to harm him, the vest was as good as paper anyway. So he donned balck Shinobi sandals, connected to moderately baggy black pants through white badnages and a few leather buckle warps around them (for the bandages, think what Sasuke was wearing on his for the Chuunin Exam). He put on his shirt. This shirt wasn't very unique, but its defining feature had to be its neck line and the lack of a short sleeve on his right arm to mirror his left.. It was a semi-tight fitting shirt, whose neckline was a normal curve untill it reached the middle, where it dropped on both sides to almost the middle of his chest (kinda looks like a keyhole type of shape). It definately accentuated his prized possesion, the Godaime's necklace, which shined through, visible to all. he strapped his arm bracer, which was an ANBU spare that he picked up along his travels, and fastened it to his left arm. He then put on his last article of clothing, his long, flowing black trench coat, with fuzzy white collar (The kind of collar the Ni-daime wears). The sleeves on the coat were large enough to fit his weapons in, and his entire ensemble gave a fairly intimidating look. He then finished his new attire by typing his rope of seals mastery round his right arm, above the trench coat, from shoulder to forearm, all the way intertwining numerous times.

With his new attire, he walked to the clerk, who normally paid him no mind when he handed in reports, but when he handed in his ANBU uniform, seemingly for the last time, the clerk could only gaze on him, pale a deathly shade of white, and dumbly nod when he recieved the articles of clothing.

So he walked out of the hq, again, for the last time (today seemed to be a day filled with 'last time's), and for the first time in two years, hit the streets of Konoha without his mask.

Being in the service for as long as he had been, and not taking any time off, he gradually decided that he didn't know what to do, so went out of habit to Ichiraku's Ramen. It had been a good long while since hed had a decent bowl of Ramen, he mused.

Along the way to the Ramen stand, he had noticed people glaring at him. But something was off. They were not glaring at him angrily...or coldly...or even with horror on their faces. They merly went slackjawed whent hey looked at him, paled, and moved out of the way. This scene seemed to repeat itself all the way untill he hit his favorite Ramen stand. He definately did not expect to find out that there was only one seat left in the stand. it seemed Ichiraku's was doing good without him afterall. But upon closer inspection, he found that the inhabitants of said stools were none other than the entirety of the Rookie Nine. A quasi-comforting fact, he assumed. Since he was now a Special Jounin (above Jounin and below ANBU), he assumed he would be working with some of the Rookie-Nine, as most were now Jounin themselves. Neji was the only other Special Jounin. It seemed that Naruto had been the one to climb the ranks the fastest without really noticing.

Thinking he might as well sit down, eat, and wait for one of them to notice him and spark up some conversation...not that he really liked conversation that much anymore...he sat down and ordered Two Pork Ramen.

"Oi, Old Man, two prok ramen please".

At the baratone voice that seemed to roll off the speaker as if he practiced saying that sentence many times, the Rookie Nine all looked int he direction of Naruto.

"Here you go mister." Ichiraku said as he served his new customer his order, only to gawk at him after he had placed the bowls down.

_Mister? I guess my face changed somewhat for the old man not to remember me._

So Naruto went on eating, unaware of the stares he was recieving from the Rookie Nine and Ichiraku himself.

"Ano sa," spoke the person he was sitting next to. The green spandex was a dead give away. "Who are you?"

Knowing Lee, Naruto just assumed to be one of his questions that would lead to a story of 'Blazing Youth'. So he merely looked Lee dead in the eye, and then turned to finish off his first bowl.

Having not been answered, Lee was growing more impatient. The last straw was when he had torn his gaze away from Lee to indulge himself in more ramen.

"Excuse me, but that seat is kind of reserved for...someone." Spoke a not so shy Hyuga Hinata.

Tearing his gaze away from his second bowl to stare at Hinata now, he had his interest sparked. Lee had looked like a carbon copy of his Jounin-Sensei, Gai, while Hinata had definately filled out her proportions well.

"And may I ask, who is this seat reserved for? I have been here enough times to know if I were intruding." Spoke Naruto

"This seat is reserved for someone that we are waiting for." replied Hinata, rather curtly.

"And what makes you think he will show up?" Said Naruto, now having caught on the several facts. First, being the Hokage had definately predicted well that his first stop would be here, and that she had arranged the Rookie Nine to wait for him for a sort of reunion. Second, was that he had changed...apparently a lot...to an extent that they did not recognize him. And lastly, he rather liked playing with peoples minds. It actually had benefits on applying Genjutsu in combat, something he was rather infamous for himself.

"He will be here, please leave!" She replied, looking from left to right as if expecting a bouncing ball of orange and black to come out of a corner and say 'hi'.

_'I don't care how hot he looks or how eerily accurately he looks like the Yondaime, I havn't seen Naruto in over two years and he is not going to ruin my chance now'._ Thought Sakura, Ino, Ten-Ten. and Hinata simultaneously.

"I see...may I know the name of this person?"

"Uzumaki Naruto." Came the unison reply from everyone sitting in the small ramen stand, to include Ichiraku himself.

"Well then, there isn't a problem. he won't be arriving here anytime soon."

"Whats that suppose to mean!" Said an irate Ino.

"What have you done to Naruto-Kun you unyouthfull trash!" exclaimed Lee, knowing that the village has always had something against the blond enigma for no apparent reason.

"I see we've toned down the volume fromt hat of Maito Gai, eh Lee?"

An almost visible quesiton mark came up over Lee's head. He didn't remember giving his name to the man.

"And Hinata-chan..." Said Naruto.

_How does he know my name, and mroe importantly, why is he reffering to me like that?_ Thought Hinata.

"Naruto will not be arriving...because he is already here."

At the mention of 'here', the enitrety of the ramen stand darted left to right trying to see what this man was pointing out to them. They were trying to find Naruto.

"Listen you Fourth Hokage look-a-like freak, we are not in the mood for games, just get out so we can meet our friend!" Yelled an angry Kiba

"I told you, hes already here." Replied a cool Naruto.

"Ok buddy, thats it, my name is Kiba Inuzuka, now whats your name so I can carve it on the memorial stone after I kill you!"

"My name...is"

Naruto finished slurping up his second bowl of ramen, and dumped some ryo unto the table to pay for his meal.

"U-zu-ma-ki, Naruto."

And with that, he got up, and started walking to his old partment complex, leaving a pale, confused, and overall shocked Rookie Nine to stare dumbly at his retreating back.

_'That went well'_ thought Naruto as he rounded the corner out of sight.

_'What-the-...THAT WAS NARUTO?'_ was the collective thought of the Rookie-Nine as they had seen him round that corner.

_A/N_

Sorry about dragging it on at the end, but I'm not so good at dialogue scenes, so I had to practice...that and I think the whole climax was very well punctuated.

Also, please do not critisize my grammar, as Microsoft Word has decided to crap out on me, and I don't have the patience to read my own writing more than once.

_A/N_


	2. Chapter 2

_A/N_

I would just like to clear up a few things and answer a few questions from my recent reviews.

1) I was questioned on my proper use of the Naruto rank system. It was brought up that special jounin is lower than regular jounin. It is not made clear in the manga or anime which is higher, but I used common sense to sort it out myself. Jounin is a regular jounin, but _Special_ Jounin implies the abilities of a regular jounin and the addition to a specialization. Thus making the _Special_ Jounin, higher than the run of the mill Jounin. Once again, common sense prevails.

2) On a question asking if ANBU are higher ranked than special jounin, I deffer to the actuall manga and relate to the real world. ANBU are the equivalent of special ops in the military (bad-ass special ops, mind you) and as such, work on a different sort of ranking than regular shinobi (infantry, lets say). While a regular Jounin might hold higher rank than a regular ANBU grunt (no mask markings, etc..), an ANBU with a red cape, and markings on his mask, clearly outranks the authority of a Jounin or Special Jounin. That having said, the real world implications are that an infantry officer that ranks higher than a special ops grunt can orrder him around, but a special ops officer of greater or even EQUAL rank can order around said officer.

3) I stress this above all other things. I DETEST YAOI. I will not touch the stuff with a 10 foot pole. On that note, pairings will be decided by vote, but will also be influenced by me. Later in the story, an opportunity will be given for each female I'm including to speak and bond with Naruto to help you along. Unfortunately, I don't do Hinata/Naruto pairings. To put it bluntly, opposites DO NOT ATTRACT.

4) Instead of mixing scenes together into one giant day, I'm going to be spreading things out a little more to include the use of seperating time skips that look like "---------". Its just a scene break, so dont worry too much about it.

5) Enjoy

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After having made some small alterations to his apartment, Naruto went to sleep and woke up the next morning quite early. He had been used to getting up when the sun came up, no matter how late he went to sleep. Apparently, the Kyuubi's presence had some influence on Naruto's sleep cycle. He could very well get along fine with only about 3 hours of sleep, and could sleep only 5 hours at most. This became a very big benefit when it came down to missions.

So he woke up, and almost robotically made his way to the shower, but a distinct thought had occurred to him. _Its technically the first vacation iv'e had in a long while, so why not enjoy myself a little more before I get down to light training?_ H thought.

So instead of going to the showers, he fixed himself up some toast and a bottle of milk, then left his apartment in order to make his way to the hot springs.

_A quick dip in the morning and then maybe a nice relaxing bath after some light training sounds nice._

Finishing his impromptu meal halfway to his destination, he was again seeing the same types of pale faces and stares of yesterday. Deciding that it was too early in the morning to deal with such indescretions, he decided to ignore them, even as he caught whisperings of people. Nothing too important, but the thing they all had in common was the name "Yondaime" . Once again, deciding its too early to think on such matters, he made his way to the hot springs.

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Winter in Konoha this year had been rather harsh. Although it never reallysnowed that much in the country of fire, it did get bitterly cold when the sun wasn't in the sky. usually dropping to about 35 degrees at night but rising to a comfortable and pleasent 60 degrees during the day. At times like these, after departing the hot springs after a 20 minuet soak, Naruto was glad he had his new coat. Sure, he was use to the cold from going on some missions in snow country, and the thin fabric of the coak wasn't exactly the warmest thing, but the collar was what made it nice and warm. That white fuzzy material seemed to seal in his body heat from escaping, and made a pleasent feeling on his skin when it touched.

Attempting to decide which ANBU training ground to go to for his light training, re realized he was no longer authorized to be in them. This left him with only one option, go to training ground number seven, the training grounds of his old team led by Kakashi, so many years ago. He didn't want to neccesarily, but it was the only other grounds he knew of and that he was cleared to be in. So he made his way towards the grounds definately not expecting what he was about to see.

Naruto had sensed 3 signitures training there, but there in lye the problem. Sai never trained with the team regularly, and he knew for a fact that he was out on a mission right now. So who was the third signiture from?

He walked into the training grounds from the East, sun to his back. He saw Sakura sparring with someone, but couldn't make out his appearence because of the Katon justsu he was using and the subsequent flames blurred his appearence. The third person, not engaged in a sparring match, was his old sensie Kakashi, whom he noticed adopted a pale face when he turned to identify the approaching form of Naruto and did two things no one had expected, then second of which had stirred the two sparring partners out of their match.

He spoke lightly "Sensei...?" just under his breath, although the two sparring had not really noticed, the second action made them stop in their match to gaze in dumbstruck shock at their sensei's latest action.

He had dropped 'Icha Icha Paradise'. His prized signed copy by Naruto's other, more famous sensei at that.

Sakura paused and followed the shocked line of sight to the approaching form of what she now knew to be Naruto.

It was true she hadn't exactly believed the stranger that the stranger last night had been naruto like he claimed, as did the rest of the Rookie Nine. So they had sat there and dumbly waited for someone who didn't show, who in fact had already left. At the end of their long wait, they decided that the stranger really was Naruto. Having seen him walk into his old training grounds was nothing short of a relief, because after noticing the time when they stopped waiting, it was a an ungodly hour and decided to seek him out tommorow instead. This just saved her the trouble of tracking him down and implementing the beating of a life-time for shocking the hell out of her and his friends, especially after not even making his presence known to them after two years.

"Naruto.." She blurted in a hafl-yell.

_Naruto...?_ thought Kakashi. _Wow...he looks like the spitting image of the Fourth._

"I didn't expect you guys to still use this training ground, excuse me..." Said Naruto as he turned to leave.

"Wait!" Yelled Sakura.

Naruto turned his head, regarding her statement.

"Your technically a part of Team 7 now that you were discharged...why don't we all practice together, like we use to back in the day?" Half-asked, half-demanded Sakura.

_Thats unusual, she use to not regard Team 7 as being complete without Sasuke, even when it was her, myself, and Kakashi...unless..._

He turned to the last team-member of the apparently complete Team 7.

The first to notice the unyielding and awsome killer intent was Kakashi. _Wha...What is he angry about? _To which kakashi, much like Sakura did with him earlier, followed his line of sight to..._oh shit._

The third member, usually stoic and cold and collected, now went wide-eyed. This was not the Naruto he remembered, and this killer intent was certainly more powerfull then his last Sensei...that, in and of itself should be the first hint towards the option of running. As genious as he was, at this point he was quite stupid.

Naruto's visage became that of great anger, snarling and growling a little and revealing slightly elongated canines. He did what anyone would have done in his position. he tried to kill a missing-nin, to which Naruto's recollection, Sasuke was.

Kakashi blinked once, and he almost missed it. The sheer speed of this new naruto was immense, out-stripping his own by far, so he turned to regard Naruto's target, and sure enough, he was there. He was there alright, lifting Sasuke up to his eye level by way of his hand around Sasuke's neck.

"Uchiha Sasuke, for crimes against the great nation of Konoha, your punishment shall be served." Naruto snarled, a couple octaves lower than his usuall voice, but it carried none-the-less.

Recognizing the standard ANBU by-the-book execution line, Kakashi broke free of the paralyzing effects of Narutos killer intent and made a frantic beeline towards Naruto, who was about the execute Sasuke.

Naruto had extended his left hand, right hand holding Sasuke by the neck, and a small tatoo appeared on top of his left hand. it glowed for a fraction of a second, and as testament to his achievment of Seal Master, and 6ft gigantic and slim dai-katana speedily shot through his sleeve, hilt landing in his opened palm. _Die traitor_.

Naruto was about to swing his sword horizontally, meaning to chop off Sasuke's head. That is, if he didnt hear the chirping of a thousand birds behind him.

He threw Sasuke a good distance with the hand that he used to grab Sasuke by the neck, much to his chargrin, and turned to deal with his new threat, Kakashi.

Kakashi's hand was a great blue of cycling electricity and hummed with the chirps of a thousand birds. He suddenly found this to be a very bad idea.

This time, Kakashi did not blink. He clearly saw it, as clear as day. Naruto in front of him one second, looking down on Kakashi as a possible enemy, and then vanished...leaving a white trail behind him. _Im..Impossible!_

The next thing he knew, he had to drop his chidori. This was made by more of a demand than a request, imposed by the large sliver of steel pressed against his neck from behind.

"Explain yourself Hatake, or you shall face the same fate as that of all Nuke-nin". Resolved Naruto.

"Naruto STOP!" exclaimed a recently shell-shocked Sakura, with near tears in her eyes.

She ran up to Naruto as fast as she could from behind.

Sensing Sakura's approach, Naruto, in one quick motion, threw his weapon up into the air with strength that rivaled Tsunade herself, and within seconds, the swords was now out of sight, dissapearing into the blue beyond.

He turned to Sakura, readying himself to do what he never ever planned on doing...defending himself against her.

Sakura, now noticing the cold glare from Naruto after pushing her sensei a good 15 feet away, stopped dead in her tracks. For the first time in her life, she was afraid of her team-mate...Naruto..._how far have you fallen?_

"Speak now or forever be silenced." Barked out a cold Naruto.

"Sa...Sauke returned to us...he returned to us almost 9 months ago! But you never realized, you never even thought about us, your team! You...YOU BAKA!" Screamed out Sakura while turning away with tears in her eyes.

Realization hit Naruto like a ton of bricks. _Have I not even noticed the return of Sasuke? Maybe I have been doing too many missions. To be here for 9 months and not even notice his presence...or even hear of him..._ Naruto pondered over his distressing new development. Perhaps him being forcefully discharged from the ANBU hadn't been such a bad thing after all.

"My...appoligies..." Replied naruto coming out of his shocked state, and turned to regard Kakashi and Sasuke.

Sasuke, on the floor, coughing up a lung, was still recovering from the throw...while Kakashi was in a similar state..._Oh shit my Masamune!_

"Kakashi, move now!" Yelled a wide-eyed Naruto.

Hesitantly, Kakash, with a numbed left leg and right arm, took a few steps back.

No sooner than his last step, did Naruto dai-katana swoop down and enter the exact area Kakashi had been in. _If he hadn't wanred me...I would most definately be dead right now...How much have you grown, Naruto? And how much of yourself have you lost?_ mused a grim Kakashi.

Naruto, now feeling like an incredible ass, turned once again to approach Sakura.

Ever so non-challantly, he crept up behind a crying Sakura, and did the first thing that came to mind when dealing with a crying girl.

_Jerk!_ She thought...then, all of a sudden, she felt wamrth...a great deal of it. Lost in the sensation, but not dull to the world just yet, turned around to see what was causing this warmth. When she turned, she did not expect to see Naruto's new coat on her to which she was correct. She didn't recieve a new coat, she was being embraced from behind by the person who wore it and said person had wrapped the sides of his coat around her to create that warm feeling...or so she thought was what created it.

"Na...Naruto?" She stuttered, asking for an explanation.

"I'm sorry...news never reached me...apparently, nothing important ever does come to these ears."

A blushing Sakura could only dumb down as the tears that welled up inside her eyes died down, save for a wisp of a tear than ran down her cheek. Which naruto took it upon himself to remove, via his hand.

Kakashi and a recovered Sasuke were now confused beond belief. One minuet, Naruto is the grim reaper, and the enxt, hes a compasionate...maybe over-affectionate...docil man.

Naruto removed his coat, and let Sakura hold onto it for now. He turned to regard his old team-mates.

"Perhaps we should talk..." Mumbled out a shell-schoked Sasuke.

"Ya, we probubly should." Replied Naruto as he gripped his dai-katana and apparently resheated in inside his sleeve...er...seal...

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And now a certain Blonde and his new-found team sat down in the grass field of training ground number 7, and began a conversation to enlighten naruto on allt he news hes missed out on.

"So to clear everything up...you (points at Sasuke) were rescued by them (Pointing to Sakura and Kakashi with one hand) and two other Jounins a month ago...and have been here ever since, with a full pardon from the Village of Konoha?" Naruto asked in a nuetral tone.

"Yes" All three replied.

"The Hokage had deduced upon closer examination of the curse seal, that it was greatly influencing his mind. hence, the full pardon. of course, the seal is now in a triple suppression over-lapping seal, to nullify its affects." Said Kakashi.

"I see...I will need to look at that later, as Anko-chan had never really let me look very closely on hers for any meaningful amount of time." Said Naruto.

_Anko...chan?_ Thought Sakura. akura had worked witht he Snake Jounin on a couple of occasions, but mostly heard about her through Ino, he best friend. Being best friends with the village's second in command to interrogations and mental health, helped a lot when trying to know more about anyone in the village. Unfortunately for her, it seemed Naruto had pulled some strings and ducked out of checking up with Ino, as per requirments for all shinobi in one form or another.

_And of what iv'e heard about Anko...what does he mean he didn't look at hers long **enough**? _Mused Sakura, now having a small vein appear on her forehead.

"Why do _you_ need to look at it dobe?" Repleid a cold Sasuke. It wasn't that he was opposed to showing Naruto how it worked, it just irked him to no end how much the damn thing itched after whatever the Hokage had put ontop of the seal.

"Sasuke, remember to look underneath the underneath." Interjected Kakashi. "Look at Naruto's right arm." To which Sasuke did. "That is no mear rope, it is proof of attaining the title of 'Master of Seals'. No easy feat, and as proof to that, Naruto here is the only master of seals in the entire village. Actually, the last one happend to be the Fourth. Jiraya-sama, who taught the Fourth, and while very versatile in seals, still isn't at the level of a master." Explained and praised Kakashi, with a upturned eye that signified his cherriness.

"O...oh...I guess he could have a look then." Sasuke replied to no-one in particular.

"Now, would you all like to have a light spar? I only have an hour left on my shcedule, and would like to complete atleast one hour of intermediate level training for the day." Asked Naruto, seemingly getting back to his schedule. This little trifle had cost him about two hours worth, and to make up for his dawdling, he resolved to change his schedule from three hours of light training to one hour of intermediate training.

"Sure Naruto...kun." Repleid Sakura, to which everyone had their head turned...sans Naruto...to stare in awe at her for adding such a suffix to Naruto's name. to their knowledge, Sakura...or for that matter, ANYONE minus Hinata or Tsunade (people like Orochimaru, who personally freak me out, that call him using that suffix to kill him don't count).

So Naruto was the first to get up and begin to walk a fair distance away, and being to do _light stretches_.

To everyone else, who now began to mirror his determination and atleast training an hour today, had jaw dropped at his _light excersize_.

Naruto had summoned two shadowclones without seals. These weren't even regular shadow clones. Shadow clones pop into existance out of thin air, with white smoke. These shadow clones formed as shadows ont he ground, and rose to their position on the surface...sealess and without noise. Furthermore, shadow clones look like the exact replica of their user, not counting a possible henge on them. These shadow clones looked like a siloete of their user, giving them all all black visage and only their eyes the correct color. _Now these are **shadow** clones. Thought Naruto._ He then unsheathed his sword from his sleeve, as his two clones did the same, and began what could only be described as a high speed fight. So high speed, that his three spectators couldn't even keep up. The only instances they saw him, were when Naruto and his two clones were in a deadlock, or he was jumping off a tree int he far corner having been deflected, etc...

After 30 minuets and seven clones later, Naruto and the now 5 clones left, stopped and resheathed their weapons. No later than the completion of sucking his weapon back into his sleeve, did the clones _melt_ back into their shadows ont he ground and dissapear. He then turned.

"Ok, my light stretches are complete. Would anyone like a wamr-up spar?" Naruto asked

To which three faces lost all color to.

------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Deciding to have all three of them spar himself at once, Naruto was now slightly tired.

Not tired from the excersize, but rather from boredom.

_They aren't as strong as I remembered them to be...I at least expected more from Sasuke._

"Well then, I guess this match is mine" said Naruto, as she sheathed his sword from Sakura's neck, copyed by his shadow clones on Kakashi and Sasuke.

_He was playing with us the whole time! He hasn't even broken a sweat!_ Thought a jealous Sasuke as he deactivated his Sharingan, and dashed over to a falling Kakashi, who kept his Sharingan on too long.

Seeing the rest of them busy, he turned to Sakura, who had by this point vivibly relaxed, but still with he back towards him.

"Seeing as how the rest of the guys are tied up, how would you like to join me tonight for some sake to catch up on old times?" Whispered Naruto into Sakura's ear, honestly just wanting to catch up.

_Eeep!_ Squeeled Sakura mentally. _I...Is he asking me out on a date?_ Sakura asked herself.

Now, Sakura, being who she was, thought the pros and cons of saying yes. For one, she always loved Sasuke...that is...she USED to always love Sasuke. Seeing a precious person being put into the hospital because of Sasuke (Naruto) had effectively killed off that love. All that remained now was the love for a team-mate, maybe evena brother if the cold bastard could ever open up. Two, she used to always say 'no' to him automatically, to which she was now thinking it out. Three, she most definately had the attention of the other sex, if the hungry stares on the streets were any proof. But for some reason...saying yes, this time, felt right.

"S..Sure Naruto-kun." Said Sakura, having balanced the pros and cons, pros winning. However, a small blush decided to escape her face at Naruto's closeness and boldness at having asked the question.

"Excellent. Tonight at...nine sound ok?"

"Sure" replied a smiling Sakura.

Naruto pulled away from her to regard the entire team, two of which now recovering well enough to listen.

"Well then, I have a shcedule to keep today. I take it I'm seeing you tommorow at Tsunade-sama's office?" He asked tot he team, of which the second half directed towards Kakashi.

"Heh, correct Naruto. We'll be working together for missions from now on." Said a smiling Kakashi.

_I figured as much._ Thought Naruto, having decided that it wasn't such a bad thing. A wisp of a smile broke onto his lips.

"Well then, ja ne." Said Naruto, as he dissapeared with a swirl of leaves.

_You know, for all Orochimaru taught me of combat, assasination, and other jutsus and training methods...no one has ever taught me the shunshin or the konoha shunshin (_body flicker or the leaf body flicker_) despite its usefullness...apparently._ Thought Sasuke as his ex-best friend dissapeared.

_I really should appoligize to him in private. I mean, it seems that for years now that every time we met up while he tried to rescue me, I put ATLEAST one chidori through him_. Thought Sasuke, grimancing on the way he had treated his 'brother' and ex-'best friend'. _Maybe tommorrow?_

_Heh, he certainly has grown. I pray for whomever we come across on our missions that regards us as an enemy._ Thought Kakashi.

_I...I have a date with Naruto-kun_, thought a blushing Sakura, mentally chanting that sentence untill it didn't seem alien to her anymore.

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We find our blonde Yondaime look alike, traveling from the training grounds to the hokage tower. Afternoon was threatening to a close, and the Hokage had mentioned some news about needing to meet with him before the day closes.

He finally slipped into the Hokage office with some semblance of stealth, through the window. Only to find the said Hokage asleep. He took it upon himself to sit down on the chairs. If the Hokage was not going to act like one, he decided that he shouldn't show respect to one.

"Good evening Hokage-sama."

Startled a little from the baratone and a presence felt, Tsunade gorgily opened her eyes.

"Good evening Naruto. Sorry, but the old bones grow a little tired once in a while. This job is very tiring, and I need a replacement soon. A rokudaime Hokage shou..."

She was interupted by the ever calm Naruto, wanting to avoid the subject of her sucessor. He decided long ago that the position wasn't for him. Working behind a desk was not his field of specialty. Dealing death...unfortunately was. Especially to people he loves. _'Don't think about that mission...don't think about her.'_ He chanted mentally, trying to forget was his previous line of thought was leading to.

"Yes...you wanted to see me about an important matter Hokage-sama?"

Tsunade gave out a heavy sigh. As usual, he has managed to talk his way out of a corner...one that she desparetly wants him to get out of so she can finally decide her sucessor. The council is pressing her for names, and within the next year, said names need to be submitted for review.

"There is a matter...of you mental stability..." Tsunade let out reluctantly.

"..."

"As you know, all ANBU personel must forgoe monthly checkups with a Jounin evaluator. You have slipped through that rule simply because you were never in Konoha for more than a few hours for the last so years. And since so, the policy states that you must go through a evaluatory debriefing with a specialized Jounin."

At this point, Naruto was mildly irritaited. One would assume after being discharged, one wouldn't have to put up with the insulting requirements of said evaluation. Then again, the last person who didn't get evaluated ultimately destroyed his own clan. _'Uchiha Itachi...'_ Naruto found himself cursing that man's existance. Even when he is not around trying to capture him, he causes Naruto grief.

"I see...when?"

"Tonight. The council has put some pressure to evaluate you immediatly. They are a little worried since your name has been revealed to them, and linked to your nickname."

_'I guess it could have been worse...'_ Thopught Naruto.

"Very well, have her meet me at..._'hmmm...I have plans for tonight with Sakura...oh well, might as well have this evaluater tag along'_...The Waining Moon, at around nine in the evening."

_'A bar?'_ "Ok...well,t hat is all. Oh, and I need to have a serious discussion with you once you return from your mission in a few days. You're dismissed Naruto."

"Hai" Said blonde dissapeared in a puff of smoke.

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_'What the hell am I going to wear tonight?!'_ Thought a slightly frantics Sakura, with half her clothes thrown about the room.

'_Now that I think about it...where the hell are we going to go anyway? He never said anything about anyplace formal. KUSO!'_

Ultimately, she settled on a white skirt with a pink top. She figured if they were going anyplace fancy, he would have told her.

Just as Sakura was done preparing herself, she heard a knock on her door. Scurrying towards said entrance, she opened it hurriedly to be rewarded with an extremely pleasent sight. Naruto stood with his usual coat, but instead of his all black attire underneath, he wore a dark blue shirt with white stiching and a darker hue of blue for pants.

'_Wow...he managed to bring out his eyes perfectly...'_

"Good evening Sakura..." He said as he extended his hand.

"Shall we?" He asked, to which Sakura took his hand, and they began making their way to their destination.

"So where are we going anyway, Naruto-kun?

"The Waining Moon." Was his late reply.

"An upscale bar...wow, good choice. We can talk their over a glass of sake or two."

"Yes...we will also have a bit of company. A Jounin evaluator. Hokage-sama needed to debrief the question of my mental stability to the council."

To this Sakura quirked an eyebrow. This wasn't axactly the normal protocal for a date.

And so they made their way toward the upscale bar, unaware of the extremely interesting ngiht ahead of them, while a Jounin evaluator was leaving her home after saying a quick goodbye to her parents.

It was going to be an interesting...confusing...but mostly interesting night.


	3. Chapter 3

Flashback to several months ago

A figure, shrouded in darkness had emerged. On the tips of Anima, the statue of ultimate sealing, the leader of the Akatsuki sat. Broadcasting his image via jutsu, he spoke to his subordinate. But something was different about him. This was not the same leader that had recruited and spoken to them years prior. This was a new one.

"What have you done with the leader?" Hidan asked, being the first to respond to the letter of summons he recieved. Or atleast he assumed he was the first, because even the chronically early Itachi was not present.

"He is dead, forgotten to memory and decaying to time. His soul has fled this world and found the lofty realm that awaits us all ." Responded the shroud with a voice distortion that accompanied his jutsu.

Hidan knew no man could defeat Pein, the founder and leader of the Akatsuki. Yet, here was a man who apparently has. Hard to believe, and Hidan was about to voice such an opinion before he noticed...

Pein's corpse was strung up. It was like viewing an abomination of god, of Jashin, to view his hanging husk of meat. Suspended from both the hands of Anima, hovering int he middle for all to see .

Hidan averted his gaze. Even he did not favor such carnage and sadism to his victims.

"Join me now, and we will start what will end in the creation of a new order, a better order for this world."

'_He's insane...not uncommon with those that posess such power to rival or even defeat Pein...if there was more than one_.' Hidan thought.

"And why should I do that? The only one I serve is Jashin-sama, the only true god. In the begining I was only following Pein because I had no where to go, but Iv'e discovered that I don't nessecerily need a destination to find Jashin. Merely a journey." Hidan smiled, showing the pearls of wisdom that had dawned on him throughout the years. He had not liked the direction that Akatsuki was headed to. It was..irrelevent to Jashin, and by extension to him.

Yet, in all of Hidan's wanderings and musing and pondering. In all of his immortal wisdom, he could never have predicted the newcomer's reply. Its as if he had taken a thousand years to come up with an answer in less than a second. Its as if this man...no, no _man_ spoke the way he had, no _mortal_ could pick out your soul as if it were an ant, and disect it to find such a weakness. A weakness he didn't even know he had, a weakness he hand'nt even bothered to phathom because of his beliefs...no, this man was not mortal...perhaps...yes, perhaps...

"Fool. In order for there to be creation, there must first be destruction. Join me, Hidan. Join me in creating a new order to this world which will usher in a golden age. A never ending era of prosperity and peace. A utopia, realized through the eyes of gods. Be my messiah, the messiah of the new world. Stop trying to live for a dream you know you do not truly believe in, and die for one that you do."

_'...perhaps...yes, perhaps...'_. Hidan, for one of the few times in his life, was rendered completely shocked and speechless. This being had done in a few words what he has been trying to do himself for years. This being ripped his soul assunder, and in doing so he found truth. THEE truth. "..._this entity truly IS a god..."._

"...a utopia realized through the eyes of gods..." He spoke as Hidan recovered from his shock "...and contructed through the minstrations of men and their own demons..."

Yes...Hidan would follow this man...

"What...is the name of the one who will usher in this new golden age...this permanent bloom?"

"I have many names, yet only one real identity. You may call this one..."

Flashback to several months ago end

_A bar..._

"You brought me on our first date...to a bar?!" She half-yelled, a small vein on her forehead threatening to burst.

Naruto mistook her rage...or just ignored it...

"Not just any bar..." He explained calmly, "...my favorite bar. Iv'e only been here a few times before, but Iv'e enjoyed everytime I was in it."

_The way he said that is...kind of wierd.._ Sakura thought

And so they found themselves seated in a booth. After the first few minuets of silent observation, Sakura actually did seem to like the place. It had live music...calming live music...and was generally extremely clean. Everything had a wooden polish to it, and seemed as if it were masterfully sculpted to include extreme detail. A very upscale place...

"So...what capactiy are you currently at?" Asked Naruto.

_Ok...thats definately not the best ice breaker for a conversation..._ Sakura thought.

"Um...what do you mean?"

"Your capacity...your strength. Of what fighting capacitya nd role are you measured to?"

"Oh, well I'm a Jounin now, if thats what you mean." She responded, a little confused. He could have just asked what rank.

"Your status I mean." He said, to which Sakura had only responded with a confused face.

"I havn't seen any enemy bingo books lately, in a few years actually." He spoke, trying to let Sakura figure it out by herself.

"Umm...I don't get what your asking...maybe if you tell me your..._capacity_?"

Naruto smiled a small smile, as if proud of what he was about to say.

"I am of A-rank criminality for 4 countries, and S-rank of one."

Criminality and bounty status? _Naruto has a bounty on his head?! That means he's in the bingo books! But, that rating...hell, to even appear on the bingo books youd'e have to have done something incredably dangerous...and to be on 5 countries books!_

While Sakura was contemplating the bombshell that was just dropped on her, she didn't notice the waitress set three glasses down on their booth.

"Your capacity is...?" Naruto asked, ignoring her shock.

"I'm...umm... not really on any bingo books..." She replied

Naruto frowned a little bit.

"So your a Jounin with little field work. I see.." He continued, not talking to anyone in general. "...Most Jounin with a lot of experience end up with atleast a B rank bounty in atleast one country." He then realized Sakura's ignorance of the subject and gave an example. "Kakashi has about 3 B ranks and one A I believe..."

"O-Ohh..." She shakily said.

"What about Uchiha?" He asked, still not revealing much emotion.

"Uch?..oh you mean Sasuke." She slightly chirped, finally having a conversation she could participate in. "Well, the village actually had a C rank bounty on him at one point, but since he returned, he hasn't really been able to do any field work due to the council putting restrictions on him. But recently they had lifted the restrictions, about a week ago, hehe" She said as she moved her hand to take a sip from her sake saucer. "He's been really itching to go on a mission ever since, and its just great luck that you rejoined our team about the same time we would get our first one since Sasuke returned."

At this point, when Naruto mimicked Sakura's action and drank a little from his saucer, Sakura noticed another oddity.

"Naruto...why is there a third saucer on the table?"

Just as she asked the question, a divine power had provided the answer. For not more than a month had she seen her oldest and best friend. Ino tended to burry herself in her work, the Hokage sending quite a few patients her way. It came with the territory of being the best. Ino had dedicated her career as a Shinobi to be a trauma counselor...a therapist of sorts. It was her job to assess returning shinobi psycologically and determine if they were ready for combat again...or provide treatment untill they were at a state of mind where they would be. She was one of the most pivitol cogs in the administration system.

Ino's Perspective

She always had a policy to let the patient set the time for their appointment. It was her way of avoiding hostility. After all, her most basic job function was to determine sanity, and people never responded well when someone they barely knew questioned their sanity. Nothing really shocked her anymore after hearing detailed accounts of what most of Konoha's own shinobi had done in order to accomplish a mission. When it came down to it, everyone had a method of coping with the stress. Kakashi had his _novels_, Asuma had his cigarettes, Kurenai had her..._unuque_...taste in fashion, Gai had his..._Gai-ness_..., hell, even the best of the best had their outlets. Jiraya wrote _novels_, Tsunade drank and gambled, even Orochimaru had his _research_...although he isn't exactly 'great' anymore.

It came as a little bit of surprise when this particular patient she was about to meet requested to meet her at a bar, at about nine fourty in the evening. She guessed his way of coping was drinking...not very uncommon among the ANBU, of which she was informed he was a part of. Aside from that, she was given very little information on him. Simply his rank and service times, and that he would be here at this time in the booth closest to the back window of the bar. From his service times alone, she could tell that the man was a workaholic. He has yet to take even a few days vacation from mission to mission.

She spotted Sakura there, sitting beside someone while sipping a cup of sake. She hadn't seen her friend in a while, so she diegned to walk up to the table for a chat before she started doing her work on whoever she was with...

'I wonder who it is that Sakura is drinking with...she almost never touches sake, and as far as I know, Sasuke is the only one with whom she has ever had any affection towards...ah well, I'll find out soon enough.'

"Sakura!!" Ino happily chirped as she finished her walk to the booth and was now right in front of her. She had yet to even glance at the figure across the booth from Sakura...work having been put off for a minute or two. "How have you been!"

Ino's Perspective End

"Ino! What are you doing here?" Sakura asked.

Naruto's attention had shifted to the sake cup when Sakura had inquired about it.

'_The last time I drank sake...'_ he began to think. '_a time where everything seemed so much simpler. Life was like a completely still lake. Serene, peacefull...for a time...and then...I had to splash around didn't I? This does me no good, to think about times past and moments lost. I can't start thinking about her. When the time comes, my own way of remembering will leave its mark on this world...'_

"I'm here for work!" Ino replied, and as she turned to look at her 'patient', Naruto turned to look at her. She--dressed in a deep, almost royal purple skirt that reached to her knees, and had slits running up her thighs that met her turtleneck, loos-fitting shirt with one long sleeve and then none at all. She--of creme colored complexion and long pale blond hair and even paler green eyes...no...they were blue, not green. '_I will not dwell on her memories'_ He repeated in his head as he took in Ino's image.

Ino kept looking to his eyes, mesmerized. She had never noticed such a pair of eyes in all her life. An ocean of azure that seemed to encompass everything it viewed. She felt trapped there, like some helpless infant vying to stare at the son. Like all children who attempt to stare at the sun, their mother's always interupt them.

"Ino, are you alright?" Sakura asked after about a full minute or so of Ino staring at Naruto. Things around Naruto just seem to keep getting wierder.

"Huh?" Ino asked as she turned her head to Sakura. "Oh, yeah I'm fine" she replied with a smile and a bit of a chuckle. "Um..." she turned back to Naruto. "Are you my nine fourty appointment?"

Naruto tore his gaze away from Ino...from _her_...and was pointedly talking to Sakura. "Sakura, I meant to tell you earlier but it slipped my mind. I have to get evaluated before we go out on missions again and tonight was the only night I could do it. I appologize, but I'm going to have to cut this short. Are you okay with walking back by yourself?" He asked, knowing the answer already.

"O-Oh...of course! I understand, its a very mportant process. And I'm definately okay with walking back myself. I'm a Jounin after-all!" she replied.

"But..." she added, "can we pick this up when we get back from the mission?" She asked, hopefully.

"Sure Sakura...I'll see you soon."

And so Sakura got up, said her goodbyes to Naruto and Ino, left.

"Heh...well, since you get along with Sakura so great we should be just fine." Ino said with a smile and an awkward chuckle.

"Yes...youre very...unpredictable." He said, more to himself than anyone else.

"Right then..." she said, not knowing how to respond. "Shall we get to business?"

a nod

"Okay, it sais on my chart" she said as she pulled said item from her bag "that you have been in service for quite a while, are a special Jounin of elite status, and have yet to take any psycological evaluations due to being on constant missions." She paused. "Now, what is your name?"

"My name?"

"Um...yes, your name."

"Well...I have lots of names..." Naruto replied, a little nervous. He had never undergone this kind of evaluation before.

"Oh, no codenames. Your actuall identity is a patient/doctor confidentiality agreement and is strictly enforced, so there is no need not to give me your real name."

"My real name...heh." Naruto replied.

Ino knew, not many ninja went by their real names. Usually higher-end ninja went by various codenames--so much so that they never go by their actual names. In fact, she recently counseled an ANBU operative that went by the name Yamato Tenzou who had actually forgotten his actuall name. They had to literally look at birth certificate documentation to reveal it to him.

"Go on, your secret is safe with me."

And then three things happend in succession that would have Ino shocked, confused, and irritated (respectively) for the next few days.

"You can call me...Uzumaki...Uzumaki Naruto."

She stopped mid stroke of her pen. _Naruto?!_

"Naruto?! Is that really you!" She said shocked of her mind. And for some reason, perhaps a silly sense of humor or a morbid facination with reactions, she replied added "Don't you remember the woman of your dreams? Come, on! The knight in shining armour always knows the lady's name. Its me..."

"...Ino..."

"...Mitoko..."

They both said at once. Naruto, for all his self controll, looked a little bit sad. He had cuaght himself saying her name...he should have recognized it was Ino, but what she said..._'this...Ino is as unpredictable as her...as Mitoko. I can't tell what shes going to say next...and they have the same hair, the same figure...and the eyes, though different colors and shades seem to share the same gleam, the same soft look that I can almost swim in.'_ he thought.

As confusing as it was for Ino, and after a suitably long pause of twenty seconds or so, Ino decided to ask about this...Mitoko...that is untill the third thing happend that just left her irritated.

"Sir." sounded a voice next to Naruto.

"The Hokage has ordered an immediate assembly of team 7. Your are to report immediatly." Said the ape masked ANBU that had appeared to deliver the message. "The rest of your team has already assembled". And just before he poofed away he added in "It was a pleasure to meet Konoha's Red Flash sir."

She knew he would have to leave immediatly. Orders were orders.

"I told you...I have many names, hehe" He chuckled softly.

"I'll contact you later...Naruto?" She asked, almost as if for permission and not out of duty.

"Yes...I'll try to make this a quick one." He said as he got up. He was halfway out the bar, when he uncharectoristically had an impulse to turn back. And so he did, walked right up to Ino, who was distracted packing up her notebook and files, and added a fourth thing Ino would be confused...and slightly blushing about.

"You know...your eyes..." he said as she snapped her head up to meet his gaze and he subsequently brushed a bang that was covering her right eye, to the side of her face "...they make me feel happy again...if only for a little while."

'_I might be a fool for saying it, but...my calculations with her are useless, just like with Mitoko. And I don't know why, but I felt like I had to say that.'_ He thought

And just as he finished that thought, shadows had begun to crawl up his form, and within a few seconds, he had sunken into the wooden floor. His own version of the shunshin was actually a lot more effecient than a mere cloud of blinding white smoke. His was silent, elusive, and awe-ing. Much like himself.

Even though he was now gone, she couldn't help but blush and say...

"...yours too..."

A/N

Ok, so its been a while. Friggin sue me! Not really though. I apologize for not updating in a while, but life has interfeared with my goals in the world of academia lately. "The best laids plans of mice and men" eh? In anycase, please ignore the spelling and grammer errors, my word processor is kinda acting gay on me.

Next chapter will have a lot of action. Oh, and the whole thing with the flashback at the start--its going to be happening every chapter for each Akatsuki member. Maybe two per chapter. At the end of the flashbacks, the story's plot will begin to truly unfold and end. I already outlined this mofu and trust me. Its a damn good read.

I'll tryt o update sooner...hell, maybe even one mroe chapter today!

Peace, love, and all that jazz...bitches.


	4. Chapter 4

------------------------------------------------Flashback, Several Months Ago-----------------------------------------------------

"Why have you summoned me here?" asked Zetsu, as he observed the fallen form of Pein and the new unfamiliar form that implied he defeated the man. Zetsu was always a very blatant person, not one to beat around the bush. If this new person defeated Pein and summoned him, surely he wants to strike a deal of sorts.

A long silenced drawled out as the man, lazily sprawled on one of the finger's of Anima, observed Zetsu's form.

"Much has changed, has it not?" Came the distorted voice of the man.

"You have killed the leader, not much beyond this has changed." Replied Zetsu.

"I speak not of this mortals extinguished flame. I speak of times long past, when men were not but a seed that was planted int he Earth.

Zetsu narrowed his eyes.

"And how would I have a memory of something like that."

"You control the Earth to such an extent that you are an embodiment of it. Do not take me for such a fool that I do not recognize ancient memories when I see them." Came the aggressively laced reply.

This man knew of his secrets...of his bond with the Earth...then surely he knew of his goals...

"Yes Zetsu, I am here to help you reach your goal. We will deliver this world to what it was before. A paradise of soil, grass, and trees." the man stated, reverence already appearing in Zetsu;s eyes.

Zetsu never gave a reason for following Pein. He merely went along with Akatsuki's plans because it involved mass destruction...wars...casualties to rid the Earth of its most ill-fated inhabitants. But this man knew thing that no one else knew...that there was no way no one else was suppose to know. He had achieved mastery of Earth to a degree where the lands had shared their memories with him...distorted and crying in agony, was the way of the land now. Humans, the only animals to shit where they eat, to pollute where is neccesity for them to exist.

"Follow me, and be apart of Cherry Blossom that never wilts, apart of what this world will become." Asked/commanded the man.

Zetsu, recognizing ancient memories himself, had discovered this man held not just a few, but all of them. Surely, this was no man.

"You have my fealty untill I die or the Earth is cleansed. What is your name, oh ancient one?" Zetsu replied.

"I have many names, but you may call this one..."

------------------------------------------------Flashback, Several Months Ago END-----------------------------------------------------

And so they found themselves traveling--Sakura, Sasuke, Kakashi and Naruto, towards lightning country, towards a series of small villages on it's southern coast.

---------------------------------------------Flashback----------------------------------------------------

"The target's profiles and likely locations are in the folders you just recieved. Team leader will be Naruto" Tsunade blearily stated, having been awoken by a messenger bird fromt he Cloud. Relations had improved...as much they they could anyway...and they had asked a favor of Konoha. Eight misssing ninja in all, two Jounin of elite status and six Genin, almost fresh out of the academy.

"Retrieval?" Naruto asked.

"No." Tsunade replied.

She didn't need to say anything else. There were only two kinds of missions regarding missing nin. And both ended the same way, either by trial and execution, or straight out elimination.

"Very well..." Naruto responded, then turned to adress his team "Three hours, gate nineteen." He then summarily vanished in a swirl of leaves.

---------------------------------------------Flashback END----------------------------------------------------

"Naruto. I notice you are..exempt from wearing your Jounin jacket. Anything we need to know about?

Ninja of high rank, specifically Jounin, were required to wear the heaviest protection flak jackets. The only way one didn't have to wear them was the possibility of it interfering with siad Jounin's fighting/combat style. Kakashi and the rest of team seven knew this and were wondering what kind of combat style Naruto had. They had seen him spar, and that was impressive enough, but sparring and combat were two very different things.

"Nothing of great importance Kakashi". Naruto replied in a monotone voice.

He wore his seal master rope around his left, his red scarf secured around his neck witht he tail dragging several feet behind him, but that was wear uniformity ended. He dawned a cloak not unlike the Akatsuki cloaks, but with noticeable differense. his didnt have sleeves, was buttoned only in the middle, and did not have a full collar. The high collar ended in the front. What was truly interesting about the cloak was the designs. Intricate red ruins and scripture was written in blood red and yellow, on a pure black background. Beneath he wore what could only be described issue ANBU gear.

_'While the cloak is probubly only for looks, everything underneath is indicative of a style relying on speed and felxability, not strength. Refinement over raw power huh?'_ Kakashi deduced.

So several hours later, when they were about to hit the norh eastern coasts of Fire Country, Naruto suddenly came to a halt on a high branch. The other had instinctively followed his actions.

"I sense multiple signiture North-North West of this location...perhaps 3 kilometers." Naruto explained, answering their unasked questions.

"So?" Sasuke drawled out. Hell, even he had sensed a few signitures a while back. But they weren't his mission. Hell, they could even be comrades.

"Konoha's main port is in the South East, and there are no major cities here." Kakashi said, interpretting naruto's actions.

"There are currently no Leaf friendlies operating out of Cloud, besides the normal diplomats, but they aren't due for another month. There aren't even possible mission targets out here. Logically, there is an 80 percent chance that the signitures belong to missing nin." naruto cut in, finishing Kakashi's explanation.

"But its really unlikely that they are our targets. Intelligence points them in villages surrounding Lightning country. We are still in Fire." Sakura piped in, kind of confused.

There was a slight pause as Naruto seemed to peer into the direction of the signatures.

"Sakura, Sasuke, proceed to flank from the North. Kakashi and I will proceed to attack directly. Radio frequency channel is 138." Naruto silently commanded.

Sakura and Sasuke exchanged worried glances and hesitated a little. They turned to Kakashi for approval, seeking their senei's wisdom.

Kakashi gave a nod.

And just like that, the two vanished to perform a flanking manuever.

"You know...I think they hang you for going off mission".

Naruto stood up from his crouch and stood to his full hieght, cloak and scarf billowing around him.

He said nothing, but the message was implied. _Move forward with me or fall against me._

"Flank through the South and wait for my signal." Naruto commanded.

------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

"So...we made it to Fire country in one piece. Where do we go from here, Kenjobu-sama?" asked what looked to be a regular chuunin.

"...We should move to Kiri in a few days. I hear we might find some work there." replied Kenjobu.

This was the scene Naruto had started to listen in on. He immediately recognized the name.

The chuunin was about to say something when all five missing nin noticed a presence.

Stealth was always a huge factor in the Shinobi world, when it came to battles. The strongest Shinobi could be killed in surprisingly simple ways using stealth. This is one of the founding principles of combat for ninja. Its what has seperated them from regular mercenaries or warrios before them. However, the battles themselves can be simplified even further. The amount of time a battle takes varies greatly on many aspects. However, if the difference in power of the two battling is great, a battle can end in less than a second. If, by chance, the two are at a close level, the battle can take minutes, hours, even days. The longest recorded battle was between two opposing ninja set the record books about 28 years ago, and had lasted one full week and three days.

The blonde ninja hopped off his tree branch onto the high grassy plain. His moves were slow and calculated, giving off no threatening aura. He approached Kenjobu, obviously the leader, while his five chuunin comrades circled around him.

"Kenjobu of the Molten Axe," the blonde said with an air of authority. "You have been charged with deseration and are hereby sentenced to death." The blonde finished.

The gaul. The sheer gaul and hubrice it would take to forgo stealth completely and just walk right up to their prey. Such an act was not found anywhere in nature.

Kenjobu, as jovial as he seemed a few seconds ago, was furious now.

"You little prick!" Knejobu shouted, and prepared his massive battle axe for a straight charge.

"Show me" Naruto commanded he a large scroll slid into his hand when he unbottoned his cloak.

Kenjobu charged, straight at the blonde bastard. Normally he was all for tactics. But this bastard was drawing his last nerve.

Time seemed to slow down for him and everyone else as soon as his foot left the ground for the charge.

The blonde, slowly but surely, rose his left hand toawrd Kenjobu, palm facing straight at him. Then is when an absurd situation took a turn for the surreal.

Ink ruins, designs, seal, expanded and floated around the blonde's arm. They encircled them at various points from the shoulder to the wrist, ending with a floating circle in front of the palm. They began to move clockwise while other began to move counterclockwise. They locked, melded, and blended into place, seamlessly, soundlessly, and quickly. So fast, that in less than a quarter of second when the seals were done moving and had settled down, what looked to be wisps of energy started floating into the seal floating in front of his palm. Then even quicker was the rapid expansion in diameter of that seal, so large as to encompass Kenjobu's complete form. And thats when it happend. All of this, in fractions of a second.

"Show me a beautiful death, one worth remembering amongst the thousands." Naruto whispered.

Birght white light, was what Kenjobu would have described it as. So bright was this beam of perpetual energy, that he didn't even mind dodging. _Show you...I'll show you how a man dies!_

He couldn't dodge, so he did the next best thing.

He smiled and accepted his fate.

The beam went right through him, through the trees behind him, and left a kilometer long scar in the Earth after that. All without a sound made fromt he beam itself, only from the collapsing of trees.

Everyone was stunned, to include Naruto's comrades at the tree line, waiting for their signal.

The blonde idely took advantage of the short break it the fight to use the scroll in his right hand to seal what was left of Kenjobu. Ironically, the right hand that was holding his battle axe. Nothing else remained.

He packed the scroll back up into the confines of his cloak, and drew a large nodachi from one of his sleeves.

"Perhaps...you who are left will show me a better death." Naruto morbidly stated.

Kakashi, Sakura, and Sasuke watched on in horror as Naruto weaved and danced through blades, kunai, and punches. It was clear to them that Naruto was simply toying witht he missing nin. He even made it a point to sever arteries in such a fashion that it would take minuets instead of seconds to blled out. Not a speck of blood was on Naruto. They just couldn't catch him, or even the scarf that trailed his movements.

Slowly but surely, Naruto finished the fight with the last nin bleeding to death.

Team 7 jumped fromt heir perches to meet with Naruto.

They approached him as Naruto was simply staring down at one of his kills.

"Naruto..." Kakashi said, announcing their presence.

"Bury the bodies." He responded.

And so they did.

The entire battle lasted about twelve minuets. Burrying the bodies took twenty.

When they were done, Naruto starred at all the graves, while his teammates behind him were still in awe of his combat ability. The beam he shot shouldn't have even been possible...or atleast was unheard of in any kind of technique effect. He didn't even seem winded or taxed in any way after he used it. '_I don't know why, but something tells me...no...I KNOW that humans aren't suppose to posses such power...such...absoluteness_' Kakashi thought. Event he way he killed those Chuunin...it was like listening to an orchestra with the shrillest highs and lowest lows he had ever heard. Pure beauty in killing, he though he would never see the day. Yet he had witnessed it right in front of him. So percise were his movments...it was like he could peer into the future.

"You know..." Naruto said, still staring at the graves but adressing his team. "In the begining, there were only a few ways to kill a man. It is only by human design, by morbid facination and great ambition for absolute power, that humans have created so many ways to deal death." Naruto stated, imparting wisdom so great that it seemed out of place coming from his mouth.

"Tshh...and how would you know that." Sasuke spoke up, tired of the atmosphere of a funeral. He hated funerals, and a funeral for your enemy is even more reproachfull to him.

"When I was younger I did not know whether I was then a man dreaming I was a butterfly, or whether I am now a butterfly, dreaming I am a man." Naruto responded.

Not a word was said as they set up camp for the night after several more hours of travelling. Tommorrow they hit a port town on the coast, where they would catch a transport ship to Lightning country.


End file.
